Bishop Daniel Deng Abot is bishop of the Diocese of Duk, South Sudan. He was born in Duk in 1974, attending elementary school, Arabic, in Bor Town.
In 1976, Daniel was baptized in Anglican Church in Juba, South Sudan. He grew up in Anglican/Episcopal Church.
During the height of the Sudan civil war in 1986, Daniel was exiled to Dimma Refugee Camp, Ethiopia. He, as part of the Lost Boys of Sudan, walked a thousand mile from Duk village to Ethiopia. He spent six years in Ethiopia and nine years in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. In Kakuma Camp, he attended Shambe Primary School, and then to Kakuma Secondary School.
- In 1995, Daniel got married to Rachel Abuk in the Episcopal Church.
- In 1999, Daniel was ordained as deacon in Episcopal Church, in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
- In 2003, he was priested in Episcopal Church in Nairobi, Kenya.
- In November of 2003, Daniel was resettled to Australia as a part of a Lost Boys of Sudan. He lived with his family, Rachel, and 7 children in Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. While in Australia, Daniel studied community services, and 4 years of theology studies with Diocese of Brisbane. He holds B.A in Human service. He was a licensed Reverend with Diocese of Brisbane, and worked with them for 11 years. While he was in Australia, Daniel worked for Angli-care, a Christian organization that focuses on resettling refugees. He worked with Angli-Care for nine years.
- In 2014, the Dioceses of Duk was established, and the people of Duk County, South Sudan, proposed Daniel to be their Bishop. After consultation with his wife, Rachel, Daniel returned home, South Sudan, in September 2014. Daniel was consecrated on the 30th, November 2014 as the Bishop of Dioceses of Duk, in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan & Sudan. Daniel is the first, and new Bishop of Duk, which is a new Diocese
It wasn’t an easy decision. He had to leave his job, and family in Australia to return to Duk, a place destroyed by decades of wars. The job for a Bishop of Duk is an unpaid one. There is no home for the Bishop of Duk. Daniel sleeps in any huts, and largely spends his time in the bush supporting his people.
The Diocese of Duk
“ I feel like a drop in the ocean, but in the name of my Lord, Jesus, I feel uniquely suited for the job. I have already suffered in my life, and I always know God has a plan for me, and I know what it is like to start over again in the village. I can cry with my people and pray with them in any way possible”
The Diocese of Duk is right at the cross roads of the conflict zone and close to 66,000 of bishop Daniel's flock live in the displaced camps within South Sudan, and in Refugee Camps in Kenya and Uganda. Only about 10% of the above number live in the area. Duk has offshoots of islands, 47, in the Sudd wetland adjacent to Duk. The people of Duk inhabit these islands. The Islands are only accessible by airboats.
The Duk Diocese is at the geographic border of two ethnic groups, Dinka, and Nuer. Daniel sees his tasks of peacemaker to help bring peace between the belligerent tribes. If God brings peace and reconciliation in this region, it can diffuse to the rest of the country or the whole country.
As a servant of God, he is ready to face the challenges of peace & reconciliation, he sees a very strong need for community leaders to rise above tribal loyalties.
Bishop Daniel is currently work on Peace Initiative; Orphanage Project, adult education focusing on early girls marriage; clergy capacity development; and guesthouses to be built in Duk to accommodate guests to generate revenues for the Diocese.